US Approves $2.1 Billion Patriot Missile Sale to Ukraine, but Delivery Is Years Away
The US State Department has approved a possible $2.1 billion Patriot missile sale to Ukraine, covering 500 PAC-3 interceptors. The announcement came on Friday, 30 October, as Russia stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy sites.
Lockheed Martin is the main contractor. Washington says the Patriot missile sale would not hurt US defence readiness and that no American funds are involved. Ukraine will pay with money from partners, including Canada, Germany and Norway, and with funds drawn from the European Union’s loan for Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision and thanked President Donald Trump, but warned that the missiles could take years to arrive. The interceptors have yet to be built, and Reuters reported, citing people briefed on the decision, that deliveries are not expected for a long time.
Zelensky asked the United States and European allies to hand over Patriot systems from their own stocks now and to refill those stocks later with the new production. He said Ukraine had waited almost a month for Washington’s sign-off and cited more than 30 Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure over the past two weeks.
Ukraine’s defence ministry is pressing the Pentagon to speed things up, possibly by supplying missiles from US inventories and replacing them later. Kyiv has repeatedly warned that its Patriot stocks are running low, which is why the Patriot missile sale matters to its air defence.
On Thursday, a Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a rail platform in Dnipro, according to Reuters.
Source: CBS News, ABC News/Reuters